For someone who doesn't cook, I sure do love good bowls.  I buy a lot of them for serving food my husband makes, holding fruit and veggies, and for basic organizing. If you think a bowl is hardly ideal for organization, think again. When the bowl is made from durable recycled melamine, and it's super good looking you'll find yourself using it everywhere.

Meet the Zak Confetti Bowls.  With many shapes and sizes, and a great price you will find a place for one of these in every area of your life.  I have them all over my studio holding anything from paperclips to side release buckles.  They make the room a little bit brighter and leave me feeling a bit more eco-friendly.
You can find them on Amazon for around $32 or at Urban Outfitters, Target and every hip little shop in your town. Yes, the Zak bowl is catching on.

Here's another fabulous addition to our growing tea cup collection:

It's hard to read in this photo, but the Sumo Wrestlers are sculpted in a subtle relief around the cup. The tactile effect of dozens of folds of sumo-flesh under your finger pads is something to experience.

These came from Japan, and we found them on eBay for ~ $3 each. Best used with slimming teas.

I haven't found their exact match yet, but I'll update this post when I do. If Sumo is your favorite motif: Uncommon Goods has an emotive Sumo cup you'll like.

When was the last time you've had this much fun with cupcakes? Cupcakes baked in (and served from) Silly-Feet silicone baking cups by Wilton will put a smile on the faces of children and adults alike. (just don't eat the googly eyes)

Silly-Feet! cups make a great gift for fun loving bakers: 4 for under $10 from Amazon.

If you can find a goofier use for silicone in your kitchen, please send us the tip; we'd love to see it.

I am not a chef. In fact, I'll go days without setting foot in my kitchen. That being said, I sleep better knowing that I have Crate & Barrel Parker Bowls stacked safely in my kitchen cabinet. 

Unused, they are a welcome and stylish addition to any decor. The colors are great! On the rare occasions that I dust them off and actually cook, they transcend ordinary bowl-dom, becoming super vessels in my unskilled hands.

Parker Bowls feel fantastic in your grip, almost impossible to describe.  The porcelain is thick and well-weighted, and seems durable thus far. The sizes are surprisingly intuitive. If you think you won't use the smallest one for anything, you are so wrong. Each and every one finds its purpose as if guided by unseen culinary spirits.  

At $36.95 you can afford to pick up a set for that hard to shop for person on your holiday/wedding list. Gourmet chefs, bakers, and kitchen decorators alike will be ecstatic.  And mark my words, you will be invited to way more parties if it gets out that you are giving Parker bowls this season!

My better half has recently taken to collecting tea cups en masse. We're using them as party favors for an upcoming event. Of the 60 or so she's found, this one stands alone, ratcheting the coolness factor to a new level.

The Maneki Neko lucky cat, or welcoming cat is a popular omen haunting the entries to tens of thousands of Japanese shops and restaurants. The beckoning kitty ushers in either customers or money (depending on which paw is raised).

I've seen similar tea cups with drawn kitties, but it may take you some time to track down this exact model. You can also find cups molded into the shape of the lucky cat.

We got it from Japan on eBay. $8